A Past That Doesn't Disappear
by Kyoakuna
Summary: Before the UR-1 incident, Simon and Athena meet each other at the Space Center. They'll share a bond of friendship until the sudden death of Metis, forcing Simon to leave Athena all alone. [Aura/Metis, Cykesquill] AA:DD major spoilers.
1. A Precious Meeting

The story takes place some months before the UR-1 incident. 5 chapters are planned.

 **Major pairings:** Metis/Aura (allusions to Aura's feelings), and Simon/Athena (childhood friends).

* * *

The little Athena was sitting at the office of her mother, Dr. Metis Cykes, in the robotics lab. It was the beginning of the afternoon, and as always, the young girl liked to stay with her mom, though she didn't really discuss with her. She just needed to know that she was close to her. In fact, from Athena's perspective, Metis preferred to work on her robots with her partner, Aura Blackquill. The two women seemed to really love their work and their respective companies. Athena enjoyed Aura and tried her best to create some bonds with her, but her mom's colleague rather enjoyed Metis's presence. When Athena talked to Aura, she, of course, always responded to her but did her best to end the conversation. She couldn't help but avoid the girl, though she knew it was not really nice. Verily, Aura cared more than they all believed to Metis and the affection she had for her daughter made her annoyed, not to mention a little bit jealous. _She needed more than respect from her coworker._

Athena's life was not really easy: she missed a lot of days in school because of her special ability, too strong to deal with on her own. She could hear people's hearts, and it became problematic when she needed to be outside: her "gift" was so pronounced with large groups of people around her that it became overload, and she didn't have the choice but to stay at the Space Center with her mom and Aura. Yet, they were not alone: the two partners have developed robots, especially Clonco and Ponco, two robots "with a heart", as it was written in the name of their project. Aura handled the engineering of the machines while Metis built their "brains". Those robots were close to Athena, so she talked a lot to them when her mother was busy elsewhere: they were like others members of her family to her. The young girl didn't really know the difference between a robot and a human.

Athena didn't have many friends, except Juniper Woods, whom she got along well. However, because of all her problems, she couldn't see her a lot so it was Junie –like she used to call her- who came to the Cosmos Space Center occasionally to play with her.

That's because of her hearing ability that her mother created heavy pink headphones as a part of her research, to reduce the noise around Athena so she could live an easier life and meet the outside world. Nevertheless, Athena didn't understand it that way: she hated to wear them, unaware that it was to help her. The relation between mother and daughter wasn't really the most beautiful ever known, so the young girl didn't understand the reality behind every action of her mother. In fact, she was not very happy of her life: she tended to believe that she was _a guinea pig_ for Metis's researches. Those headphones, Athena was wearing them often, but only because it was supposed to be "necessary", like her mother told her many times.

Today, Aura did not come to the lab so Athena was alone with her mother. The little girl wondered why Metis's coworker was absent: that's not like her.

"Mom? Why is Aura absent today?" asked the child, sitting at an office.

"She will come soon. This morning, she went to see her little brother, Simon, because he wanted to learn psychology from me: we're going to meet this afternoon. I think they will be there in less than fifteen minutes." answered Metis.

Leaving her chair, Athena came next to her mother: what she said piqued her curiosity.

"Really? Is he nice? I always wanted to meet someone else in here! Is he going to play with me?" said the little girl, with stars in her eyes. Maybe it was her chance to grow happier in this place, if she started to see someone else. Maybe this person will be really nice with her, listening to what she wanted to say, or why not, playing with her? Athena was asking herself about a lot of things like that, hoping that future student of her mother –Simon- will not disappoint her.

"I guess he could play with you sometimes, Athena. But only when his work of the day will be done, of course. Anyway, they won't be long, so wait a little more, darling."

Athena agreed and returned near the office, where she was drawing to pass the time: on her paper were represented the two robots, Clonco and Ponco, smiling with her between us. It was a childish drawing, but for an eleven-year-old girl, she drew rather well.

When she was almost done with the colors on Ponco, someone knocked on the door of the lab. She startled and turned to face the door. Aura entered first, smiling as ever but this time, she wasn't alone, as announced by her mother lately. A man, very tall, black-haired and also wearing black was following her. Athena was watching him carefully, though she was feeling uncomfortable. She didn't expect him to look like that: he was very intimidating –albeit handsome. The young girl was staring at _the man in black_ , unable to say a single word. Finally, it is Aura who introduced them all.

"Metis and Athena, this is Simon, my little brother. Don't pay attention to his appearance, he's not as scary as he seems." said the purple-haired woman with a smirk.

"It's very nice to finally meet you, Dr. Cykes." he continued kindly, then bowed his head to Metis. Next, he faced the little Athena. "I suppose it is you, Athena. Nice to meet you, too." he said, his smile widening. He knelt before her and stroked slowly her head. It was his way to greet her. Athena grinned shyly to Simon, still intimidated by him.

"Well Simon, let's start, shall we? Come with me to the psychology lab, we must prepare ourselves to begin." declared suddenly Metis, smiling. She was near the door, holding some documents and ready to go in the next room.

"Oh, yes, of course, Dr. Cykes." Simon rose and left the room, following Metis to the other lab.

Now, the two were alone in the robotic lab. Athena didn't know what to do next: she finished her drawing, and she knew that Aura would not want to speak or to play with her.

"Miss Aura?" she started, kindly. "Are you gonna continue with the building of the robots today, like mom did earlier?"

"Yeah, I'm quite late today because of my brother. I didn't mean to introduce him today –we initially planned to do it later, and I lost a lot of time because of that. So, well, I think I'm going back to work, yes." answered Simon's sister. Aura seemed to be the exact opposite of her brother: she was always cheerful, smiling, had strong relations to others. On the contrary, _"the man in black"_ –that's what Athena was thinking about him- was pretty withdrawn, and Metis's daughter didn't believe him to become a close friend to her. Maybe she was wrong? Anyway, she was ready to speak with him once he will be over with her mom.

"Why don't you go in the psychology lab, to see what Metis is teaching to Simon?" offered Aura, in order to be alone in the robotics lab so she could work without being disturbed.

"Okay!" smiled Athena, and before Aura could say a word, the girl quickly took her drawing with her pencils which were on the table, and left the room.

She entered in the lab without knocking on the door: fortunately, she wasn't disturbing anyone.

"Oh, hey, Athena. Are you bored?" asked Metis. "You want to stay with us?"

"Yes. I was embarrassed to follow you two, but Aura told me I could, so…" said Athena.

"No problem, you can draw in this room too, if you don't want to be alone." proposed the woman, seeing that her child was holding a notebook with some pencils.

Athena, glad to be with her mother and Simon so she could watch what they were doing, sat at a table and turned a page of her notebook. She started drawing her mother, a smile on her lips.

Suddenly, the two robots she lived with, Clonco and Ponco entered the lab too. As the two things never saw Simon, they started to move around him, asking questions, both at the same time. However, it was Ponco who spoke the loudest.

"Hello! Hello! Who are you? Are you a friend? A stranger? We don't know youuuu! Who are you? Please tell us your name!" was yelling the little Ponco, the older of the two robots.

"Calm down, you two. That man is Aura's brother." started Metis.

"Um, yes, I'm his little brother. My name is Simon Blackquill; I'm starting studying psychology under Dr. Cykes. Nice to meet you, I suppose…?" said Simon, somehow embarrassed: he knew that his sister was working in order to elaborate robots, but he did not expect to meet them. He didn't even know what to say.

"Loading… Registering data… Complete! Hello, Mr. Simon!" answered cheerfully the little Ponco, soon imitated by her _"brother"_ Clonco. Athena used to believe they were brother and sister, something that her mother enjoyed.

As soon as Clonco left the lab, Ponco came next to Athena. The robot usually tended to refer to Athena as her friend, and shared a bond with her.

"Miss Athena, do you enjoy yourself? Can I help you with something?" asked Ponco: she always wanted to help people around her, it made her happy.

"No, I'm fine, thank you! Look, I'm drawing Mama Metis." began the little girl. She took her drawing and showed it to the robot. It wasn't finished yet, but Metis was easily recognizable.

"It's a beautiful drawing! Mama Metis, look, please, come and look!" insisted Ponco, moving its arms through the air like she was used to when she was happy.

"Yeah, it's as pretty as always. But don't disturb me anymore until I'm finished with Simon, please. We need to concentrate for analytical psychology." said Athena's mother, looking with a stealthy glance.

Athena felt upset because once again, her mother didn't seem to really care about what she was doing. She was thinking that maybe, she annoyed her. It was true that Mrs. Cykes and Simon started working but sometimes, she was feeling lonely and nobody wanted to talk with her.

Afterwards, Ponco left the lab to travel around the Space Center, in case somebody required assistance.

When it was almost 4:00 PM, Athena was still drawing. She was practically finished with the third one: she represented Aura, this time. She thought it was one of her best drawings, though she didn't know if she was going to show it to Mrs. Blackquill or not.

"Well, Simon, I think we're done for today. You're a very promising student," said suddenly Metis while she was putting away some papers. "And I hope you agree with what we planned."

"Yes. It sounds great to me. Again, I thank you very much for your help, I would not want to take too much of your time."

"There's no need for thanking me every time, you know. It's only natural. Aura didn't lie, you're really good." grinned Dr. Cykes.

Simon smiled to Metis, picking up his stuff. When he was ready to go, Athena yelled his name.

"Simon! Wait!" Athena grabbed his arm as he was about to pass the door of the lab. "I… Um… I wanted you to stay a bit more…" she said, shyly and stuttering. She didn't know how to ask what she wanted and there was a good reason for it: Athena was not the kind of person to make friends easily since she was pretty shy with strangers.

"Ha ha, I think my daughter likes you quite well." laughed Metis. "If you don't mind, you could stay a little longer at the Space Center. I believe Athena will be happy with that."

"Oh, why not? I don't have a lot of work lately, so there's no reason to disagree with your proposal." Simon found Athena rather cute and nice. He understood that she wanted to be his friend. Though he never had a strong relation with children, Athena seemed to be a very intelligent and mature girl beyond her years.

"I myself am going to go back to work with Aura. See you tomorrow, Simon." Metis greeted him one last time and left the lab, leaving Simon and Athena alone. The woman knew that Simon will take care of her daughter and besides, Athena was clever enough to stay on her own.

"Thank you for staying with me… I felt very alone this afternoon, y'know." said Athena, with tears in her eyes.

"That much? Does it happen often?" Simon sat on a chair and pointed the other chair in front of him, inviting her to sit down too, so she did the same.

"Well… My mom is pretty busy with, er, your sister. She doesn't have much time to spend with me. She always works so hard in her researches…"

"Did you already talk to her about that? Maybe she doesn't know what you really think."

"I-I'm afraid to do it. I end up thinking I'm wrong, but sometimes I can't help but believe she don't love me."

Athena only knew Simon for 3 hours, but she already felt safe with him. He was listening to her and seemed to understand what she's been through.

"You don't have to worry, Athena." he finally smiled. "I do believe Dr. Cykes is working hard to help you. These headphones, she made them for you, did she not?"

"I hate them, you know. They hurt my head, and it's not pretty. Yet I feel much better when I wear them, because I cannot hear people's voices anymore."

"You see? Even if you don't like it, your mom did them to make your life easier. I believe that she suffered to see you suffer too." he said, calmly. Athena listened closely to his words; it was like if he had some sort of control over her, he was the first one she had listened to since ages.

"Listen, Athena." Simon resumed. "If you don't mind, I think I will stay with you as much as I can, after my everyday appointments with your mother."

"Oh… Really? You'll do that for me? I don't want to be a bore… Anyway, how are your days organized?"

"Well, I will come to the lab at 2:00 PM, except on weekends. My meetings with Dr. Cykes will last approximatively two hours. I'm a prosecutor since one year, so I don't have a lot of work yet. I'm still a rookie." he laughed by the use of this word. "Furthermore, there are no trials the afternoons, except for some rare cases. I'll be there as much as possible. Promise." he smiled to her, and she smiled too. A big and genuine smile, rarely seen before.

"Thank you so much, Simon! I'm already starting to feel much better." she said with a joyful face.

"So I'm glad too." Looking around him, he was suddenly surprised by the displayed time on the clock of the lab. "Well, I'm going to leave. I have a case to work on, currently. I'll see you on Monday, okay?" he got out of the chair, come closer to Athena and ran his fingers through her hair, to say goodbye.

We were Friday, so she'll have to wait three days to see Simon again.

"Such a short time, knowing _how much_ I'm going to see him now."


	2. Restless Days

Two weeks after his first meeting with the Cykes family, Simon was working on another case, alone at his office. A murder one, **again**. _God there is killers at the moment._

He had already acquired some great experience on analytical psychology, in only a few days. Metis' lessons were very effective: he learned quickly, she was an excellent teacher. He was on the verge to manipulate some witnesses already, which made him feared by some people, mostly by the rookie attorneys he faced. Despite of being a beginner in his job, he was a promising prosecutor who had won more than half of his cases.

We were Wednesday, and he had just finished to prosecute a simple murder case this morning, in which the defendant was found guilty and convicted of killing her husband to get his money. Of course, common motive. The other case he was dealing with was far more complicated than that because _neither the dead body nor the murder weapon was found_. Absolutely nothing. There were only traces of blood, blood which belonged to the victim. It was pretty more difficult to prove the culpability of the defendant if nothing was left on the way. Therefore, the accused might be released. This same person was charged with murder only because a single witness crossed his path, leaving the murder scene when there was already blood on the ground. Besides, they found a gun at the accused's house although no prints were on it, as well as all the bullets. The police investigation was not over yet, so Simon still had hope for tomorrow's trial. He wanted to get some decisive evidence.

However, he warned Dr. Cykes that he would not be able to come at the Space Center today because of that same case. _"Athena is very disappointed",_ is what he was told. The little girl was much attached to him now, far more than the first day he came to the lab.

* * *

He liked to spend time with her: they had always something to do together, like playing childish games –though it didn't bother him a lot- or drawing. Athena enjoyed teaching him how to draw correctly; he wasn't a pro _at all_. His eleven-year-old friend, on the other hand, was starting to acquire drawing skills. She drew during most of her free time –and she had a lot since she was usually not at school. Often, they both laughed when seeing the _catastrophic result_ of one of his drawings.

"Look, I'm going to show you." She suddenly said, and she grabbed a blank piece of paper. Then she started slowly to draw the contours of Ponco, the robot she used as a model this time. Sometimes, they spent one entire afternoon to draw or to paint, and Simon was surprised to find an evolution in his capacities.

"I'm glad to see your progress! That's not as tough as it seems, isn't it?"

"Yes, you're right. It would appear that I do better than the first times…" Simon answered. "Athena. I'm going to suggest you something."

"What is it?" The little girl came closer to him, looking at him with stars in her eyes.

"Why don't you watch a Samurai series with me? That's very good for kids, I'm sure you could like it." He was a bit embarrassed to admit that he was watching that kind of series at his age –and it was one of the reasons why Aura usually laughed at him when they were alone.

"But Simon… You're not a kid anymore, aren't you?" She finally asked. He was sure of that question, so he knew what to respond.

"That's true. But Aura and your mother both know that I like Samurai things, and that show was the one I was watching when I was younger. I always liked it. I'm not fond of TV anymore since I'm working, but the series is still being broadcast."

"The show is called _'The Steel Samurai'_ , no? I already heard of it. When I woke up early, I used to look some episodes. That's pretty good! Though my mom didn't approve entirely…"

"Really? So you would like to see it with me?" Simon smiled. He felt suddenly falling back into childhood. He didn't expect Athena to agree with his proposal, since it was not the type of show she seemed to like.

"Of course!"

* * *

But today, Simon had planned to come sooner as usual at the Space Center. It was only 11:00 AM –the trial had started at 9:30 and was over at 10:20 because of decisive evidence in his favor. He worked on his other murder case since almost thirty minutes, but he was starting to understand that he couldn't do much more for now. Maybe he'll get decisive evidence in the afternoon?

That's why he left his house, closed the door and started walking toward the Center. Since he left earlier than usual, he could go home sooner to finalize his case.

When he entered the big building, he directly headed to the robotics lab. The door was open, and Metis and Aura were working already. Simon cleared his throat in order to make himself seen, since he was very discreet.

"Why, hello, little brother! What are you doing here are this hour of the morning? It's only 11:15, you know." said Aura, looking up.

"Indeed. I'm done with my today case, and I wanted to see Athena."

When she heard that, Aura gave him _a cold gaze_ : he could feel it so well. There were no doubts about it: his sister was annoyed with his request.

"Oh, you mean the little princess?" Aura sighed. "I still haven't seen her today."

"If you're looking for Athena, I'm afraid she's still in bed." Metis joined the conversation, smiling to Simon.

"At a time like this? Oh, well, if I may ask… Can I wake her up?" Simon seemed surprised because it was pretty late already, and she's usually awake before 10:00 AM.

"Of course you can. Go ahead! But don't forget to come back at the lab for our daily lessons." Metis agreed.

Simon went to their residence, located at the basement of the Space Center. He came here only once last week, when Dr. Cykes offered him a cup of tea after their appointment. However, he found his way easily. Athena's room was closed, and there was a drawing hanging at the door: she pictured herself and she wrote her name underneath.

The prosecutor opened slowly the door, and discovered little Athena sleeping soundly, her back facing him. He knelt before her, running his fingers through her hair, a tiny smile on his face.

A few seconds later, feeling the presence of somebody near her, she groaned slightly and turned herself so she was now facing him.

"Hello, you." whispered Simon.

"S-Simon..?" The little girl stammered, rubbing her eyes. She wasn't entirely awake. "What time is it?"

"It's noon in a few minutes. You slept tardily last night?"

"Oh!" Athena, surprised, got out of her bed quickly. "I, um, yes. I thought that my mom was going to wake me up, but she didn't."

"What were you doing so late?"

"I was drawing. Again. And I… I didn't see the time pass. When I looked at the clock, it was already two in the morning." She lowered her eyes in shame. It was the first time she went to bed after midnight, and she wasn't used to it.

"I'm not going to argue with you, you know. And your mother won't tell you anything, I'm sure of that." He smiled gently as he put his fingers under her chin, and Athena looked up to him. "Now, do you want to go for a walk with me? We could eat outside, too."

"Yes!" Athena's face lit up at Simon's proposal. "I'm going to get dressed, wait me in the room, okay?"

The little girl disappeared in the bathroom as soon as she said those words. During her absence, Simon looked at the bedside table. Athena's pink headphones were on it. They were big and heavy, but _the hell_ she was going through when she didn't wear them was a thousand times worse. The prosecutor opened the shutters, then sat on her bed and looked around him. Athena's bedroom was decorated with yellow and blue wallpaper, onto which some of her drawings were displayed on the walls. Simon saw also one or two watercolor paintings. He was impressed: it was quite hard to believe that everything was the result of a work made by an eleven-year-old girl. _"She's excellent."_ Thought Simon.

Ten minutes later, Athena came out the bathroom, ready to go.

"We can go now! Come on!" She took Simon by the right arm and pulled him out of the room. She seemed incredibly awake, unlike earlier.

"Now, now, Athena. How impatient you are."

The prosecutor chuckled, following the little girl. She stopped in front of the robotics lab and came in to hug her mother.

"I'm going for a walk with him, mom! Oh, and hi, Miss Aura!" She smiled a bit.

"Hi. Have fun with my little brother." Aura answered ironically, without looking at her.

"Athena, how rude. You could have asked me first before taking this decision, don't you think? But that's alright. He's not a stranger anyway." Metis was frustrated by the attitude of her daughter, though it wasn't really a big deal. However, she cared _much_ for Athena. Perhaps too much, even if nobody besides the Blackquills noticed it.

"Sorry, mom. I'll tell you before, next time."

"Fine, then. Simon, take care of her."

"Don't you worry, Dr. Cykes."

They left the lab quickly afterwards. _But, in the rush, neither the two women nor Simon saw that Athena didn't wear her headphones._

This time, Athena didn't really pay attention to what her mother just said. She just wanted to have fun with Simon, forget her worries and enjoy the outside of the Space Center since she didn't go to crowded places for some time. Maybe it'll be different with _him_?

When they were outside, they started to walk in a park surrounded by a lot of trees and benches. It was not far from the Space Center, and there was a hamburger stand at the other edge of the park. Since it was noon, it was time to eat something.

"Are you hungry, Athena? We could buy some fries out there."

"Oh yes! Yes, please! It's been a while I didn't eat fries… my mother don't really take me out, because of… y'know." Athena lowered her head.

"If it makes you happy, then let's go."

They both went to see the seller and Simon bought two portions of fries. Holding their food, they found a lonely bench near a big tree. As they sat down, Athena started to eat immediately.

"You're oddly starving for someone who got out of bed barely an hour ago." The prosecutor joked, eating at the same time.

"I didn't take breakfast, after all." They eat in silence during a few minutes, and then Athena spoke again. "You're unusually happy today, Simon! I can hear th—"

Athena suddenly ceased to speak, as she realized that she just told something she shouldn't have. _Her headphones_. She went out without them and nobody noticed it. Now, it became far too obvious.

"… Athena." Simon sighed by the look on Athena's face: again, she was ashamed. "You know that is wrong, don't you?"

"But…" She was interrupted by her friend.

"I know you don't like them. I really do, trust me. But I've already told you more than once that you really _need_ to put it on your head. Shall I repeat myself again and again?" Simon had his serious look on his face, the look Athena didn't like at all. She hated it, in fact. She felt like if he was going to leave her all alone, _like she was before she met him_. However, when he acted like that, it was always for the same reason: Athena's ability. He wanted to protect her, in short.

"Simon… Please, I don't want to argue with you… I'm so sorry, I… I…" Athena began to cry. She was a very sensitive child, especially when people she cared about were mad at her.

"You what?"

"I just wanted to hear your heart…"

Simon laughed when he heard those words and his face became gentle again. "Oh, come on, Athena! Why on earth would you like to hear it? There's nothing peculiar about it."

"It's just… I'm always wearing my headphones when you're with me, and I don't even know what you're thinking. I was so curious… I wanted to know for so long."

"So that's why. You do believe I'm annoyed when I'm with you?"

"I don't know. I'm not used to be appreciated by people. I don't have friends, except Juniper Woods, and my mom is always working with Aura. But I already told you that…" She sniffled.

Simon put his bowl of chips next to him and came closer to Athena, then hugged her to stop her crying, while he was stroking her hair.

"Now, now, Athena. Hush, I'm sure you know why I'm here."

"I'm sorry I doubted you, Simon. That's really mean."

"Don't worry about that, I understand your reasons."

He let Athena go, and the little girl dried her eyes.

"You know, I really enjoy my ability. At least, I'd like to…" Athena started to tell how she felt about her power. "I find it very cool and convenient. It's like a gift from my mom, considering her talents in analytical psychology. But you're well aware of that. Anyway, if I can hear people's feelings and hearts, I believe I can help them when they're in need. I could understand their pain or their happiness, even their anger or their fears… Not everyone is so lucky. But I… I know I'm too young to handle it. Besides, it's too strong for me. I had hoped it would fade in years, but that's not the case. I don't ever remember since when I'm aware of my ability." She ended her speech with a sigh. It was rather unusual for her to confess like that, but when she was with Simon, she was someone else.

"You know you're still a young girl, Athena. Don't lose hope. And, please, continue to wear your headphones. If you don't want to do it for your mom, do it for me. You're lucky there's nobody here today. How would we have coped if that wasn't the case?"

"I understand, now. Thank you very much, Simon." Athena kissed him on the cheek.

She gave him one of her best smiles and did the victory sign with her hand. She started eating again: as a consequence, her fries were all eaten in five minutes.

"Hey, Simon, why do you want to learn psychology anyway?" asked suddenly Athena, a fry in her mouth.

"I always wanted to learn it, especially since I'm a prosecutor. It interests me a lot. If I can put what I've learned to good use, then even the worse criminals could go into prison. I want to do my job the better I can. Not a single felon should walk free."

"Really? You can do that? It sounds so easy!"

"Except it isn't," he laughed. "But your mom is a really good teacher. In two weeks, I've learned more than I thought."

"Um, speaking about mom… Since she's working with you, she's got even less time for me."

"Do you think so? Her free time, she's using it for her researches. She's continually working for your sake. Though she neither wants to play with you nor talk with you, she's always thinking of you. Soon, everything will be over and your life will be as good as you both expect." He ran a hand through her hair and smiled. Then, he looked at his watch. "Well, we should go back to the lab. It's almost 2:00 and we wouldn't deceive Dr. Cykes, right?"

Athena agreed and rose from the bench, following by Simon. The two took the road leading to the Space Center, and the young girl was hopping on the way home for quite a while. When she had enough, she grabbed Simon by the sleeve to ask him something.

"Hey, Simon! Earlier, I told you I was sensing a strong happiness… What's that for?"

"Oh… Such an obvious question. I'm happy because I never had the chance to look after a child younger than me. Aura is my elder, and it was her who took care of me a few years ago. Furthermore, I'm glad to be your friend, Athena. It really means a lot to me."

"That's so cute!" Athena clapped her hands joyfully with a big smile on her face, stars on her eyes.

A short while later, the two entered the Space Center. Since it was Blackquill practice time, Athena left him and ran to her room, where she was going to "paint a picture of him", like she just said. On his way to the robotics lab, Simon walked slowly and thought about what Athena said to him concerning her ability when he came across his sister, just coming out the lab.

"Why, hello again, Simon! You're back quite soon." Aura smirked, full of sarcasm.

"You're well aware that I'm starting my lessons in five minutes, aren't you?" Simon frowned, surprised by Aura's tone of voice. It wasn't the first time, though.

"Indeed I am. But I expected you to be late, since you seem to amuse yourself with the little princess…"

"What is that supposed to mean, Aura?"

"Oh come on, Simon. You can fool everyone, but not your own sister."

"I still don't understand. By the way, why can't you call _her_ Athena, instead of that silly nickname?"

"How cute! He's defending her. Hm, you see, I like that nickname. Don't you think it suits her very well?"

"Aura." He pronounced her name in a sudden serious tone. "I don't like the way it's going, nor your behavior. I found you impertinent these last few days. What do you have against Athena? I'm not an idiot, I understand you have some problem with her."

Aura sniggered suddenly, staring at her brother. "I thought you were far more intelligent than that. Are you not a well-feared prosecutor by now?"

"What does my career have with Athena, or with you?"

"When it comes to Athena, that's quite related. Are you going to lose everything you've worked so hard to gain, just because you want to see her every day?"

"Damn, Aura, what's your point? I'm well organized; I'm always spending at least four hours in my personal work. You know it!"

"And I suppose your love for the little princess isn't a problem." With those words, Aura was finally exposing the thoughts she was keeping for more than two weeks.

"Nothing troubles me in my work—Wait, what?!" Simon didn't realize at first the real meaning of her words, but he was astonished when it went to his head. "What are you blabbering about now? Athena is only nothing more than a child!"

"True. But age doesn't matter, right?"

"Aura, for god's sake, what's wrong with you? That's utter nonsense!" Blackquill was beginning to get upset. His sister was going mad with her thoughts and he was under the impression that it would be pointless to try to reason with her.

"Oh, just let it go. Anyway, you should be able to understand what I'm feeling now."

Simon crossed his arms, looking firmly at his older sister. By all means, he couldn't understand what she was meaning. Why such hatred against Athena? Why all these provocations and absurd suppositions?

… And then, he finally understood.

The word **"feeling"** resounded in his head. It was the key to everything.

"Aura. I finally get it. It took me a while, I can't deny it."

"Well, well! I'm looking forward to hear what you've to say."

"It might be rude to say it that way but… You're in love with Metis, are you not?"

Aura was stunned. She didn't expect her brother to guess, and least of all to say it that easy. For several months, she had hidden her feelings, even to her brother.

"… It's come to this, after all. Very well." Aura sighed and her mind seemed to be elsewhere. "You're perfectly right. That's futile, isn't it? When we're working together, there's not a single minute in which Metis don't talk about Athena. She's always claiming that she wants to see her smile, she wish all the best for her… I'm sometimes feeling like a simple and useless coworker, a good-for-nothing but to build robots. I know I've Metis's respect and everything, I know we're getting along well but that's not enough for me. And now… you, too, are always with her. Is she a magician or something?" She shrugged, and then laughed ironically. "How pathetic. I'm not even able to tell her what I told you. I'm feeling like a kid in the middle of high school drama."

Simon had listened carefully to her speech, and though he didn't really know what to answer in a situation like that, he understood better what Aura was feeling.

"Well… It seems clearer, now. I hope you don't _really_ believe that I'm in love with Athena?" Simon wanted to hear the answer: who knew what she was really thinking?

"Of course not. Listen, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I'm way too irritated."

The prosecutor was still a bit angry with Aura: he looked her with menacing eyes and that glint he used to have when he was arguing with someone or annoyed with something. In court, every witnesses and attorneys he faced were forced to keep quiet when he was staring at them with those eyes.

"There's no need for you to look at me like you do in court, it won't work." She tried to joke a bit, and she got her smile back. "Anyway, if you intend to stay mad at me, do as you wish. I said I was sorry."

"Speak to Metis." He suddenly ordered, without losing his glare.

"… What did you say?"

"That's not like you, to keep quiet like you do and to hide your true feelings, Aura. You should know better than remain silent. Metis is an open-minded woman, she will listen to you. You've got nothing to lose."

"… Thank you, Simon. I didn't believe you'd know so much about women." She laughed and then patted him kindly on his shoulder. "Go ahead, you've got your daily work to do with Metis."

Aura found hard to believe that it was her brother –a 21-year-old man who never went out on a date- which gave her a precious advice.

And it was clearly what she was going to do: have a serious chat with Metis, _before it's too late_.


	3. Explanations

I finally did it. I wanted to write a big chapter but it took a lot of my time, so I stopped at _that awkward moment_. Anyway, you'll see! And thanks for reading if you're doing so! By the way, I hope I didn't do too much grammar/tense mistakes in here. ;_;

* * *

 **Chapter 3** **—** **Explanations.**

It was a calm afternoon at the Cosmos Space Center; inside, Metis and Aura started working few days ago to develop another robot with a brain far more developed: he'll be even smarter than his two young fellow robots, Clonco and Ponco. If everything went smoothly, the two women's work will last more or less one week, if they spend approximatively seven hours a day. Meanwhile, outside, the weather was beautiful and kind: it was sunny with a slight breeze and a pleasant temperature. Not far from the center, Athena was seeing Juniper: they were playing at the same park she went with Simon last day. The two girls were sitting on two swings. Athena didn't see Junie since almost one month and a half, and she missed her; so, being able to see her again made her very joyful.

"What did you do the last few days, Thena?" Juniper stopped swinging and sat on the grass, looking up at her friend.

"I spend a lot of my time with my mom's student. His name is Simon." Before she knew it, her cheeks were blushing at the moment she pronounced the man's name.

"Who's that? What does it look like? Is he nice? Oh, Thena, are you in love with him? Tell me, come on!" She was asking so many questions that Athena didn't even know to what she was supposed to answer. Some of them resulted in making her blushing even more.

"Junie, stop! Lemme tell you everything, okay?" She took a deep breath, "I know him for, uh, more than one month now. He came to the lab shortly after we last met you and me. We both got along very well, you know. Though he's kinda scary at first sight because he wears all that black stuff and he sometimes come to the lab with his sword. He loves samurai things."

"Aw, that sounds great! I wish I could meet him…" The little girl started thinking to what Simon could possibly look like, fixing the sky and its clouds. "But Thena, are you really in love with him?"

"No!" She frowned, "I didn't say that! Okay, he's gorgeous and everything but I just like him as a friend. I think. And Aura, his sister –you know her anyway, would be really angry if that was the case. She doesn't like me, mainly since I know her brother."

"You sure about that? She always seems so kind and nice, not to mention with your mom! She's always so close to her and they've some sort of bond. I never talked a lot to that woman but I really wish I'd a big sis' as cool as her."

"Well, she's kind but not with me. Last time, I heard her argue with Simon. Both of them thought I was back in my room, but I stayed hidden behind the nearest wall and I listened to everything they said. Since that time, I do my best to avoid her otherwise I'm feeling really uncomfortable." Athena remembered all the bad things Aura said about her and felt some sort of twinge of sorrow. What did she do wrong? Even while she listened to the argument, she couldn't understand. She even heard things so weird after that, she didn't know what to believe. Apparently, Aura was in love with her mom. Athena found that rather strange, but as the little girl she was, she started thinking that she would surely understand when she'd grow up.

Athena stood up and to sat again but correctly on the swing, intending to tell the rest of the story to her friend. She needed to talk to someone about everything she heard about herself, since she couldn't confide in her mother. Furthermore, maybe Junie should be able to know what to do; she was a very intelligent little girl, too.

"Aura couldn't stop provoking Simon by talking about me with a sarcastic and nasty voice. She never stopped repeating that nickname, 'the little princess', which is supposed to define myself. Sometimes, my mom calls me like that but when she uses it, that's so cute and I really feel good. With Aura, that's the contrary. Also, she wanted to make him confess his supposed love for me."

"His w-what?! So he's really in love with you?!" yelled Juniper, shocked by what she heard. She couldn't let her friend continue her sentence.

"Junie, just lower your voice because there are people around here, and stop interrupting me, okay? That's not true! And even if it was, why should you care anyway?"

"…Fine. Just go ahead."

Her friend seemed to be suddenly upset, though Athena couldn't understand why she was reacting as she did.

"Anyway. That's not true like I said, but she really insisted on that fact." Athena continued, "And then, Simon started to become mad. He's usually so calm, I was truly astonished. Then… I…" She didn't felt like being able to continue her story. What she heard next was still disturbing her and she still didn't even know if she understood really well the point of their argument. Of course, she wanted to tell her but she felt uncomfortable with what bothered her for a few nights.

"Yeah, you what?" Juniper frowned.

"…I don't think I should be telling you that," she started to whisper, as if she feared to be heard by Aura or someone else that shouldn't be here, "That's kinda… a secret."

"Hey! I'm your friend, Thena! I'm not going to repeat it, y'know… Please, trust me." Her eyes seemed to beg her and yet Athena knew she could be helpful, so she didn't refuse the offer.

"Alright... Aura is… er… She loves my mom. Frankly, I don't understand because I was always told that men and women can be together, but yet it seems to be possible. I'm not judging Aura; I just wish I could understand a little more."

Athena was still a little girl despite of her intelligence and that side of love was still unknown to her and she didn't always understand when things became complicated. She wasn't fully interested in love and everything, a completely normal thing for her age.

"Oh, I see…" Juniper finally said, after reflecting further on the matter to know what to say to her friend. "That's not a problem. I don't think you misunderstood what she said; a woman can easily love another one. I believe Aura is jealous of you."

"Jealous? But… She's a grown woman, and I'm only a child, that's not fair…"

"Jealousy cannot be controlled, Thena. I didn't meet him yet, but I'm sure Simon really is attached to you, and the same goes for your mom despite the appearances. Aura may wish to be as loved as you are." Athena was suddenly lost in thought. What Juniper was saying had sense, after all. Especially since Simon spent hours to reassure her. Juniper suddenly spoke again, making Athena come back to reality. "I don't believe you should continue to avoid her. She must feel really lonely…" Juniper lowered her eyes, thinking about her situation. The young girl is living alone with her dad since her birth, because her mother died giving birth to her. Athena, pained by her suffering, came near her and put her hand on her friend's shoulder with a slight smile.

"Just try talking to her, okay Thena? She's like us, she has a heart and I'm sure she won't be mean to you anymore."

"I'll try, for you." She promised, and then hugged her. "Thank you for being here for me. You're the best friend in the world!" Athena was making the victory sign with her hand, a cheerful smile appearing on her face again.

"I really didn't do anything, y'know…" Juniper blushed, not used to compliments.

"Nah, you're always doing a lot for me." she confirmed and then suddenly had an idea, "Listen, why don't we head back to the center? You could come with me to see Aura. I think she and mom must be taking a break from their new work."

Agreeing, Juniper got up and smiled, "Okay, come on! Let's do this!"

The two girls started to walk towards the Space Center. While they were talking about school to Athena's request, they suddenly ran into somebody. Juniper knocked herself on the body of a tall man; Athena looked up to recognize Simon, much to her surprise.

"Oh no, I-I'm really sorry sir, I…" Junie, on the other hand, was really embarrassed and started coughing, something which was always happening to her when she was under stress. She didn't know what else to say and had turned beetroot. She felt miserable.

"Simon! What are you doing here?" Athena took the opportunity to slip into the conversation and wanted to hug him to say hello, but as Juniper was still next to him, speechless, she decided that would be inappropriate.

"I was going to look for you at the park, but I see that I found you earlier than I expected," he laughed softly and then added, "And who's your clumsy friend?" Simon knelt to face Junie who was still in shame.

"I'm sorry…"

"You're 'sorry'? What a curious name." Simon seemed to enjoy his jokes because he snorted after saying that. Athena rolled her eyes.

"No!" Juniper huffed, "I-I mean… My name is Juniper Woods. I know Athena for about two years now."

"So that's you, the friend she talks very often about. Well then, that's nice to meet you, Juniper. My name is Simon. I'm Metis's student." The _man-in-black_ patted Juniper on the head, as he was usually doing to Athena. The latter crossed her arms and scowled when she saw the kind gesture, a bit of jealousy in her eyes. 'Why isn't he saying hello to me, too?' She wondered, without removing her eyes from them.

Juniper was pleased to finally meet him, after everything Athena said to her about him. He was exactly as she imagined and wasn't even impressed by him. She wanted to speak with him but didn't know where to start, and the way Athena was looking at her made her worry, though she couldn't help but enjoy a little, seeing that she seemed jealous because of Simon: it confirmed what she always thought.

"Um, well, can we go back to the center now?" Athena says with eagerness in her voice, looking both at Simon and Juniper.

"Can you please wait for my return? I just remembered that I need to go buy something for my sister and Metis's work. I won't be long, that would be really nice of you two if you were waiting wisely." Simon put his gaze directly on Athena, smirking.

"We will, Mr. Simon!" Juniper answered right before Athena had the chance to do so. The girl with the pink headphones really liked her friend, but once Simon was the main subject, she felt like she always hated her. Why was she so jealous? She didn't want to think about it.

Simon left to head back to the commercial area of the town, so the two girls were left alone.

Athena started thinking that Juniper could have some kind of crush on him, and it actually made sense. It'll explain why she was so upset when she believed that Simon confessed his love to Athena! However, she didn't understand how it was possible to love someone we barely met. Juniper never spoke of boys when they were together, she always told that she was too young to think about them and, sometimes, she even said they were all the same: _scoffers_. Junie really acted rather strange now. Yet Athena had always been so calm, she didn't want to argue with her friend but she couldn't leave her _stole_ the only friend she had.

"Are you mad, Thena?" Juniper suddenly asked, seeing that Athena still had the same look on her face.

"Nope. I'm _not_." Athena merely answered, trying to sound innocent and calm.

"Oh yes, you are."

"I'm telling you that I'm not." There was a break which lasted for about fifteen seconds, and then, "Why are you bothered asking me this stupid question?"

"That's because you're bad at lying, Thena!" Juniper's remark really annoyed Athena: it was the straw that broke the camel's back. She couldn't stand her haughty attitude.

"Leave Simon alone, okay?" Athena eventually said with a confident voice, like she never had before.

Deep down, Athena wanted Simon to come back as quickly as possible because she didn't want to fight with Juniper; but she knew they would argue either way and there was nothing to do about it.

"I didn't do anything! We just met!" Juniper started to be on the defensive. She couldn't understand why Athena was so stubborn believing she did something wrong. Was it just because Simon seemed to like her?

"Yeah, that's right. You just met, and you're already perfectly fitting together like two pieces in a puzzle."

"But, Thena…"

"If you really care so much about him, just go away with him and never come back again!" Athena clenched her fists, to fight back the tears that well up in her eyes. She didn't want to cry in front of her.

"That's stupid! If you continue like that, you'll behave like Aura did towards you the other day!"

Athena couldn't stand being compared to Aura; it reminded her all the awful things she said about her. She moved to be right in front of her, "I'm going to—, " but she was stopped in her move by someone who dragged her away.

"What's going on here?" The voice sounded familiar. Way too familiar to them, and it was even able to put a smile on Athena's agitated face.

"She believes I stole you from her," finally spoke Juniper.


End file.
